Sediment

Earth Day, which officially falls Thursday, is a time for all of us to think about how we can protect our planet. There are many ways to do this: recycling, reusing, conserving resources, preventing pollution. Often simple steps are all it takes. We just need to understand what those steps can be. From 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. Sunday, we, the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends, and our partners at Upper Newport Bay will be holding our 20th annual Earth Day event at the spectacular OC Parks Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, which overlooks the bay. What better place to celebrate Earth Day than at a facility constructed mainly with recycled materials, such as the nearly 200 tons of spent oil filters used in making the steel bars that reinforce the concrete in the floor, walls and roof.

In what city officials are calling a potential win-win for Newport Beach, the Port of Long Beach will begin accepting applications next month from cities looking to dump underwater sediment into that port as part of its expansion project. "If we don't get into this window the Port of Long Beach is opening for us, it's going to hurt us financially," said Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller. "It's a win-win. We're not taking a risk. We have nothing to lose." In what may prove to be a fortunate coincidence for Newport Beach, the Port of Long Beach is undergoing its $750 million Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project that would connect two shipping terminals divided by water into one giant wharf at the same time that Newport Beach is dredging its harbor.

It took four years, $17 million and some pestering of the federal government by Newport Beach officials, but the dredging of Upper Newport Bay is done. In his monthly update to the Harbor Commission last month, Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller told the group that more than 1.8 million cubic yards of sediment had been moved and the contractor would be demobilized by Oct. 27. The Back Bay project, which started in 2006, intended to improve the natural habitat of some endangered birds and reduce the sediment flow into the harbor.

The Port of Long Beach has agreed to accept 150,000 cubic yards of dredged toxic sediment from the city of Newport Beach, Newport officials said Tuesday. The sediment will come from the Rhine Channel, an area near Cannery Village that once housed shipyards and canneries, boat-building and metal plating facilities. It will be dumped in an area of the port reserved for such dirt, a site that will accommodate future expanded shipping operations. Finding a home for the contaminated material is a major development for Newport.

The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday approved Newport Beach's Rhine Channel restoration project. The commissioners gave the go-ahead to dredge 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the waterway near Cannery Village and dump it at the Port of Long Beach . The approval is the latest step in the process to clean up waste from shipyards, canneries, boat-building and metal plating facilities that operated there for...

Likely launching the harbor's first significant dredging since its inception, the Newport Beach City Council is planning to approve an agreement Tuesday to dump more sediment at the Port of Long Beach. Already, the city has been towing barges of polluted mud from the Rhine Channel to the port, and officials recently secured space for additional contaminated dirt. That muck, and some non-toxic silt, however, has formed shoals throughout Lower Newport Bay, causing boats to increasingly run aground.

NEWPORT BEACH — In the wake of the midterm elections, when most of the country has been talking about bipartisan divisions in the House and Senate, a Republican congressman and Democratic senator are coming together. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Rep. Ed Royce (R-California) will be in Newport Beach Saturday to celebrate the completion of the Upper Newport Bay Dredging, a $47-million public works project that required cooperation among politicians of different levels and colors.

Deepa Bharath The notorious El Nino storms four years ago did more damage to local bays and marinas than meets the eye, apparently. Plazi Miller, vice president of Shellmaker Inc., said his company has been hired to dig out a portion of several hundred tons of sediment that washed over from the upper bay into the channels after the storms. "It's causing a lot of problems," he said. "During a low tide, boats can't get in and out of the marina."

STEVE BROMBERG Thanks to the Daily Pilot for making the public aware of the important action the Environmental Protection Agency may take to designate a location 4 1/2 miles off the Newport Pier as a permanent (instead of its current but 35-year-old "temporary" designation) place for sediment from the Upper and Lower Newport Bay to be deposited. Dredging projects -- small and large -- benefit by this designation. It's not just the city's taxpayers who save money by not having to haul sediment up to San Pedro.

Residents may experience sediment in their water or reduced pressure Monday and Tuesday as the Mesa Consolidated Water District tests fire hydrants, Mesa officials said. The flow tests are part of the maintenance for the district's master-plan update. A temporary pressure drop may occur near the testing sites. The tests also may stir up sediment in the piping that may look like dirty water. The water is not harmful and will clear up quickly, said Karl Kemp, general manager.

Crews dredging sediment from the Santa Ana River Marsh in Newport Beach will be working in overdrive to wrap up a project that was scheduled to be complete a few weeks ago. The Army Corps of Engineers, which is pumping "good quality" sediment just offshore and trucking the rest to upland sites, expects to finish by March 31. Previously, the temporary pipeline running across the sand and into the water near 60th Street was scheduled to...

Contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have begun dredging sediment in the Santa Ana River Marsh in Newport Beach - some of which is being piped just offshore for beach replenishment, drawing concerns from residents. The roughly $5-million project, which will restore channel depths to improve water circulation and tidal flushing necessary for maintaining the 92-acre salt marsh habitat, is expected to be complete by the end of March. The Army Corps project is federally funded.

The latest phase of Newport Beach's harbor dredging is underway, with giant vessels removing thousands of yards of toxic sediment from Lido Isle. The sediment will be sent the Port of Long Beach for disposal in time to meet a June 30 deadline. The $6.5-million undertaking launched May 2 and will focus on the Lower Bay. Sediment off West Coast Highway, the south side of Lido, the north side of Balboa Island and an area near the Coast Guard station will be hauled away. Long Beach will use the dirt as fill to help expand its port.

With one deadline missed, Newport Beach officials now have until June to get the next phase of the city's harbor dredging project underway. Material scooped from areas near the south side of Lido Isle, the north side of Balboa Island, West Coast Highway, the Coast Guard Station and other areas was to be transported for disposal to the Port of Long Beach by March 14. However, that deadline was missed due to complications, Harbor Resources Manager...

Likely launching the harbor's first significant dredging since its inception, the Newport Beach City Council is planning to approve an agreement Tuesday to dump more sediment at the Port of Long Beach. Already, the city has been towing barges of polluted mud from the Rhine Channel to the port, and officials recently secured space for additional contaminated dirt. That muck, and some non-toxic silt, however, has formed shoals throughout Lower Newport Bay, causing boats to increasingly run aground.

Boaters already dodge large entertaining yachts cruising through Newport Harbor, and come Friday they will have an additional obstacle: tugboats hauling massive barges full of dirt from the Rhine Channel. The city will begin scooping out generations of industrial waste that has settled in the underwater area near Cannery Village. Once the $4-million project is complete, about 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment should be moved from the waterway to the Port of Long Beach.

The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday approved Newport Beach's Rhine Channel restoration project. The commissioners gave the go-ahead to dredge 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the waterway near Cannery Village and dump it at the Port of Long Beach . The approval is the latest step in the process to clean up waste from shipyards, canneries, boat-building and metal plating facilities that operated there for...

NEWPORT BEACH — In the wake of the midterm elections, when most of the country has been talking about bipartisan divisions in the House and Senate, a Republican congressman and Democratic senator are coming together. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Rep. Ed Royce (R-California) will be in Newport Beach Saturday to celebrate the completion of the Upper Newport Bay Dredging, a $47-million public works project that required cooperation among politicians of different levels and colors.

The Port of Long Beach has agreed to accept 150,000 cubic yards of dredged toxic sediment from the city of Newport Beach, Newport officials said Tuesday. The sediment will come from the Rhine Channel, an area near Cannery Village that once housed shipyards and canneries, boat-building and metal plating facilities. It will be dumped in an area of the port reserved for such dirt, a site that will accommodate future expanded shipping operations. Finding a home for the contaminated material is a major development for Newport.

It took four years, $17 million and some pestering of the federal government by Newport Beach officials, but the dredging of Upper Newport Bay is done. In his monthly update to the Harbor Commission last month, Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller told the group that more than 1.8 million cubic yards of sediment had been moved and the contractor would be demobilized by Oct. 27. The Back Bay project, which started in 2006, intended to improve the natural habitat of some endangered birds and reduce the sediment flow into the harbor.